We are the champions, my friends!

India, won the World Cup! We actually did it. One feels blessed to have seen this huge, monumental achievement by the Indian Cricket team.

This is a long long post, but I write this today on my blog, simply because somewhere down the line, a dream of mine has been fulfilled by a team which has my favorite cricketer as its batting mainstay and today the country as a whole can celebrate a dream come true.

My memory of cricket started with the Hero Cup match where Sachin Tendulkar bowled the over of his life to defend 6 runs against South Africa, but those were hazy memories, my real memories started from the 1996 Cricket World Cup, the India Pakistan Q/F match is etched in my memory, Ajay Jadeja hammering the hell out of Waqar Younis and Venkatesh Prasad showing Amir Sohail his place after the batsman lost his mind and gave TV channels, footage, which will embarrass his great grand children in the future.

But then I remember the 1996 World Cup Semi Final, against Sri Lanka. A brilliant fifty by Sachin and then the disaster that followed. I came very close to crying that night. I was too small to wonder, when India would get a chance to win the World Cup.

Post the 1996 World Cup, another major memory is of the 1998 Sharjah tournament. I remember being in Nainital on my summer vacation, watching Sachin Tendulkar create magical innings in two consecutive matches. He batted like a man possessed. He produced two of the finest innings one can witness. It was then that I became a life long fan of Sachin Tendulkar.

Then came the 1999 World Cup. It was one of the most lack luster World Cup performances by one of the most lack luster Indian teams. A team which had mostly mediocre players and a few budding greats like Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Barring the victory against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, there was nothing much to talk about.

Then came the 2003 World Cup, India played some exceptional games, especially the one against Pakistan. One man stood out in the run chase, Sachin Tendulkar. He played the kind of innings, the greatness of which, cannot be valued in runs or the strike rate. Anyone who saw that match live, would know that the tag"Master Blaster" was owned by Sachin Tendulkar. That team was one of the strongest teams that India had in a long time.

Javagal Srinath was asked by Saurav Ganguly to come out of retirement for that World Cup and he did a fabulous job. I sincerely felt that India made a huge mistake by leaving out Anil Kumble from the 11 for the World Cup final. The bowling let us down that day, Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed very early and the run chase was just not on. Back then, it was already 4 World Cups for Sachin, the 2003 team was pretty strong, we just could not beat Australia.

Then came the 2007 World Cup, India went in with a team that promised a lot, but we got knocked out in the league stages itself. It was a shattering experience for Indian cricket fans. There is this footage of Sachin, Rahul and Anil Kumble; watching the proceedings; stunned as India collapsed and exited the World Cup!

What followed was carnage. People calling for Sachin Tendulkar's retirement. Ian Chappel famously wrote that "If Tendulkar had found an honest mirror three years ago and asked the question; "Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the best batsman of all?" It would've answered; "Brian Charles Lara." If he asked that same mirror right now; "Mirror, mirror on the wall should I retire?" The answer would be; "Yes."

As a Sachin Tendulkar fan and a supporter of the Indian Cricket team, I could not believe the things that people were saying at that time. Saurav Ganguly during that time said in an interview, when asked what he feels when people say that Sachin should retire he said "Log paagal ho gaye hain!" He actually said that.

Then came the turnaround of the decade, Sachin Tendulkar would go on to outscore all his contemporaries in terms of runs and centuries, the number of matches that India went onto win was insane. The ODI series in Australia being a fine example. It was our first ever ODI series win in Australia, one man scored a Century and a brilliant 90 odd in back to back finals. It was Sachin Tendulkar.

In 2010, the most unbelievable thing happened on a very normal February afternoon. The first ever double century in ODI men's cricket was scored, by, Sachin Tendulkar. The ardent fans, who had never doubted Sachin Tendulkar's greatness were vindicated. But even then, with 14 months to go, there was talk of whether he would retire without a World Cup medal in his cabinet.

It was a tough call, no host country had ever won a World Cup. The Indian bowling line up was not rated very highly, barring a phenomenally improved and brilliant Zaheer Khan and the not-in-the-best-of-form Harbhajan Singh.

India made it through the league stages, with more questions than answers, some disastrous collapses against England and South Africa, cost the team a win in both games. Zaheer's brilliance against England, resulted in a tie and his heroics against South Africa did not save the game, but gave a lot of hope to his fans for the remaining games. Another thing in common in both games was that one man had scored brilliant centuries, Sachin Tendulkar. In many ways, Zaheer was the bowling spear head and Sachin, nearing 38 years of age, was still our batting main stay.

Then came the most amazing 3 matches that India has played. The Quarter Final, the Semi Final and the Final of the 2011 World Cup. India on the back of some great bowling and significant batting contributions from the famed Indian batting line up, overcame the Australians. Ricky Ponting's century went in vain.

The win against Australia resulted in an epic Semi Final, India versus Pakistan. India had a record of winning all World Cup matches against Pakistan, one man was involved in all those games, Sachin Tendulkar. That man was dropped 4 times and survived the closest LBW review you will ever see followed by an extremely close stumping chance to score 85 runs, which turned out to be the highest score in that match. One would wonder if the good karma Sachin earned by walking in the previous games had caused so many lives to be granted to him in a semi final innings. India overcame a brilliant 5 wicket haul by Wahab Riaz to post a fighting total to defend. As was the case in all the past World Cup games between India and Pakistan, India won.

Shahid Afridi was extremely gracious and warm in his presentation ceremony talk. It was a nice touch to a closely contested game.

There was a lot of irritating talk of match fixing etc after the India Pakistan game. The lives given to Sachin and then Misbah's slow scoring rate during the run chase etc.

But all that talk was put to rest during the final of the World Cup, between India and Sri Lanka. People talked about Sachin's 100th International century. I worried about the result. Memories of 1996 haunted most of the fans of my generation.

What followed was one of the best World Cup finals ever. Sri Lanka scored 274 and India needed to chase down 275 to lift the World Cup at home. Only 2 times out of 9 had a team won the World Cup chasing. Never had a host team won on home soil. Sehwag got out without a run on the scoreboard. Hopes of millions sunk. Then came a flurry of runs from the blade of Sachin Tendulkar, hopes started to rise. Those hopes were short-lived, he made a mistake and got caught behind. At 31 for 2, there were very few who can claim not to have had a passing thought of a nightmarish situation, where India folded up for less than 150.

Then came some rebuilding by Gambhir and Kohli, just when things looked like they were settling, Kohli fell. Such was his disappointment that the man did not remove his pads and stood in the player's balcony for the remainder of the match, whether it was out of superstition or whatever the reason was, it showed how crucial victory was for even a member of the team, whose part in the game was effectively over.

Then came, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. I will be honest, I always had some issues with MSD. I felt that the man was simply lucky and got more than his due. I also was mad at him because Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in the IPL final. But I sincerely swear, I have not seen a more commanding and critical knock by any captain in my lifetime than the one played by MSD. And man, if you are reading this by some miracle. I apologize for every thought in which I wrongly criticized you. You are truly a legendary captain and an all time great player. The man basically came in with a look on his face that personified determination. He looked more determined to win the World Cup, than he did during the T20 final or the IPL final, both of which he won.

There was a moment in the game, where someone commented that the game was basically boiling down to a face off between two wicket keeper captains. The big difference was the determination. MSD fought like a man who would wrench victory from fate's grip. Just by looking at him, one could sense that India would go onto win. In the course of an hour and a bit, he played an extra ordinary innings under pressure to eventually give India a comfortable victory in the World Cup final.

There was no swan-song for Murali, neither the 100th century for Sachin in a World Cup final. But there was a World Cup medal for him and World Cup for a billion. Against all odds, this team defied history, statistics, Sreesanth's bowling and a host of other challenges to win a World Cup.

Sachin Tendukar, aged nearly 38 in his 21st year of cricket can claim to be a member of a World Cup winning team. The man still ended up as India's highest run scorer in the World Cup. One quote sums up the feelings on an entire generation of Indians -

"Sachin carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. Now it's our turn to carry him!"

- Virat Kohli

Epilogue:

This photograph, is one of my favorites. It has two legends, Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble. These two men, held up Indian cricket's flag high, during the darkest periods in the 1990s. Their heroics are worthy of song and one feels privileged to have witnessed the 10 wicket haul by Anil Kumble against Pakistan and the 200* by Sachin Tendulkar against South Africa, two of the most monumental individual achievements by any Indian bowler or batsman.

Kudos to MSD, blessed are we fans to have had the privilege of having a legendary batsman and a legendary captain of the World in the same cricket team.

A brilliant photo of a brilliant Tendulkar shot

Source Link - http://blogs.cricinfo.com/shotselection/archives/2009/11/tendulkar_turns_it_around.php

This photo looks like it's a straight drive, but since the wicketkeeper is facing Sachin, it obviously is not a straight drive. Tendulkar used this shot against Warne in his first innings century in the third Test in Chennai in 2001. A match we eventually won! Stuff that only true cricket lovers will enjoy. Brilliant photo!

Sachin Tendulkar - The shining star on a dark night

Today we saw a match in Hyderabad, which had one of the all time greatest ODI knocks by the man who has brought glory to India so many times that being a fan of the great man is an honour by itself.

The problem is that he is miles ahead of all the rest. Today's match for instance, just contrast the last ball catch he took with the rest of the team's efforts. Giving away 100 plus runs in the last 10 overs, how do you expect to win a game with bowlers who seem to be so secure in their mediocrity while Zaheer Khan is away? We so dearly miss Anil Kumble who actually used to put the breaks on the opposition. Mark my words, the Indian batting line up will face a similar fate once Sachin Tendulkar retires. These two men, have one huge factor in common. Determination. They have endured everything to win a match. Just think back to the game where Anil Kumble bowled with a broken jaw or the game where Sachin battled his aching back to battle Akram and co. in Chennai. A loss actually pains them. Both were miles ahead of their team mates.

The very fact that India looked like winning the game is a testimony to the Herculean effort of Mr. Sachin Tendulkar. 175 from 141 at the age of 36, batting from the first over till the 47th. What else can we ask of him? And it wasn't just the runs he scored, look at the way he did it. It was an honour to see him in action today, just as it is each time he graces the field.

During the match a friend of mine said, "Even after this innings some people will say, he doesn't play well when it counts". I told him that such remarks and comments don't deserve a reply. You can not give sight to the blind. Only fools will choose to criticize a legend like this when they should be catching every glimpse of his genius while it is still on display. In a few years there won't be the name Sachin Tendulkar on the score board when India plays. There wont be the name which tilts the game just by his mere presence. There will no longer be the man who gives us hope when there would be none if it weren't for him. We'd have these T20 wonders, people who think hitting 30 from 20 balls is a job well done. People who won't dive and would rather get run out. People who would buckle under the sheer pressure of having to chase 7 runs an over from ball one.

I for one just respect the fact that I have seen this man play innings like the one today, or the one at Sharjah, or the one in Johannesburg against Pakistan in the World Cup, or the one in the Chennai Test, innings' which were decades apart at times and yet reminded you of the single factor binding all of them - Sachin Tendulkar carrying the hopes of a billion.

In school, the entire lot of us used to watch him play, in college it was the same at the canteen or the hostel mess, now I am in office and still when he plays everyone makes it a point to see him score his 17000th run, or his 45th century, those who can't or are in a meeting have Cricinfo on their screens.

I will henceforth never bother to respond to a critic of this legend, who is above all petty complaints. I have seen a man who in one lifetime has played innings that others won't even if they were given ten.

About the match we just saw, the bowlers are the main culprits, this is not a bowling attack worthy of a team that wants to be the World No. 1! The batting line up hasn't got the patience or determination to win consistently. At the crucial times the only one who stands up to be counted is Sachin Tendulkar whose brilliance is such that even his severest critics have to applaud.

Todays game proves that Sachin Tendulkar is still and will always be the greatest batsman of our time.

Things that went wrong today:

1. Fielding
2. Bowling
3. Crappy batting by the Young brigade.
4. A thankless presentation ceremony speech by MS Dhoni [for whom I have lost a lot of respect]

Something about MSD, if you see the stats and check the number of times we have won due to Sachin under his captaincy, you'll be alarmed at how much Sachin's brilliance has contributed to his success.

Anyways, at the end of the day, Sachin will play many more such awesome innings, we will win most of the times and on a few occasions lose! But the one thing the rest of the team must remember, something that Sachin mentioned in his Man of the Match speech, "He is proud to play for India". It's India you are playing for! If only the others realized this, we would win most of these crunch games.


Thanks for yet another innings of a lifetime Sachin. Everyday your legend grows bigger!

Paisa vasool match that India lost

I've seen a lot of cricket right since childhood, the memory of that India Pak game where Tendulkar brought us to the brink of victory before falling still hurts. Even though India lost the match, it was an enthralling game which you'll remember forever. Since then India has improved as a team and our complete reliance on one man has come to an end.

Today however I saw a different kind of paisa vasool match that we lost. I was out all day and finally started watching the game at the stage when we required an impossible 42 runs from 18 balls and just Bhajji and Pravin at the crease who could hold the bat, Ishant and Nehra don't qualify to be called batsmen even when they have the bats in their hands. The awesome hitting that followed for the next 12 balls was so insane that it easily made up for the eventual loss, just seeing Watson getting smashed for 20 runs in the penultimate over was worth it. 9 of the last over was very likely but then, the momentum died after Bhajji left. Cricketers like Bhajji are crucial for cricket, they are the entertainers. When Bhajji bats, you will be entertained. And when he bats the way he did today, it's full too paisa vasool.

Well, seeing the crowds in the stadium, one can safely say that cricket of any kind is safe in India and the close finish shows promise for this series. Time for Sachin Tendulkar to show his masterclass yet again. Trust me non-believers he'll come to the party soon!

The Commercialization of Cricket

"Ati Sarvatra Varjitey" - This is one of the first ever Sanskrit phrases I ever heard, and it totally applies to all aspects of life. I just read a good post by Shirin on her blog and thought of adding some thoughts of my own.

One doesn't need to be a genius to understand that Cricket today has changed, and not every change has been for the best! The author of the post I was referring to hit the nail on the head when she mentioned that people shouldn't start calling a SIX, a DLFer, but it happened during the match between Delhi Daredevils and KKR. It was unbelievable. I had just read the post a few hours back on the above mentioned link and here I was watching a match in which a SIX wasn't called a SIX, not once! It was called a DLF maximum! WTF?

Commercialization of Cricket is going to hurt the game very badly, the quality of what one see's will indeed be affected adversely. In terms of broadcasting, SET MAX literally destroyed the broadcasting fun when they brought on Ruby Bhatia a few years back, and quickly replaced her after she goofed up completely. Then Mandira was unleashed upon this world. I have no issues with her, she's just doing her job. But the problem is, it started a downward trend.
There are now so many channels on air that they've run out of experts. They bring in any unheard of player and call him an expert. Each channel has it's Arun Lal and Maninder Singh [no one I know can remember any significant on-field contribution that they ever made].

Something about TIMES NOW - They have a guy called Boria Muzumdar, who originally started ramming his mouth of on air under the tag of "Cricket historian"! Yeah, right! I know a couple of guys in my college who could quote any score of any match played since they were born, only they haven't figured out a fancy title for themselves and haven't been hired by a channel, yet!
Anyways, now, he is a "Cricket Expert"! We have, hold your breath, Arbaaz Khan, that's right, Arbaaz Khan... the man who starred in blockbusters[?] like "Qayamat" and his views are taken on Sachin Tendulkar's innings and Shane Warne's captaincy.

CNN IBN - These guys at least don't pretend to be serious about their IPL coverage, their show is titled CRICKET TAINMENT. With Cyrus Broacha cracking his, mostly lame joke brand of humor. Anyways, so now we have Cyrus, Arbaaz, Sameer Kocchar and the guy who lost out on Indian Idol, Mayang Chang - covering the IPL. W G Grace, may your soul rest in peace!

The point that the "Mandira" supporters make is, that it sells! Well my friends, it sells because it's what the fools running these channels decide to show us. ESPN STAR is like the shining beacon for us Cricket lovers, they too have had to change a bit because of the ensuing madness that rival channels have started. But look at the people they have in their fold, Sunil Gavaskar, Wasim Akram, Harsha Bhogle, Alan Wilkins - all exceptional commentators and people who can claim to say they know what they are talking about.

I saw this match yesterday in the IPL, where Ranjit Fernando was on air and he delivered this piece of idiotic commentary -

[Batsman slog sweeps... mistimes]

Ranjit - Oh, that has been savagely hit!

[The ball lands just outside the 30 yard circle, talk about savagely hit shots]

Ranjit - He didn't really get too much bat on it.

[WTF]

How the hell did a savagely hit shot, not have too much bat on it?

Anyways there are far worse commentators on air than Ranjit Fernando, but i was just citing an example that came to mind. Another incident involving Mayan Chang comes to mind, the guy is so poor in his Cricket knowledge that he at times forgets team names! Why the hell is he covering a cricket match?
I have nothing against any of the individuals who are named in this post, they're all doing what they've been paid to do, but the point is why, oh why have they been hired?
To a cricket lover who has seen the glory days of Cricket coverage, when Geoff Boycott and Sunil Gavaskar used to deliver brilliant and exciting commentary, for the people who have heard Tony Greg delivering lines like "This little man is the closest thing to Bradman there's ever been" - it's close to torture to watch the insanity that is on AIR. Watching Danny Morrison near the boundary rope with a cheerleader sitting on his lap was utterly distasteful.

Another thing is that, player's who haven't done any great deed in their career are incapable of truly understanding greatness or actually criticizing stupidity.

Case in point - when Buchanan came out with his 4 captain theory, Gavaskar took him on with a scathing attack! Well, now it's clear why Sunil Gavaskar used such strong words to criticize an idea which is fundamentally flawed. KKR is at the bottom of the table and don't look like they're gonna get up at all!

At that time I remember, a pathetic loser of a former cricketer on a news channel saying, "T20 is a game of constant innovation, Gavaskar may be a great batsman, but i think we should accept that the past generation cricketers cannot accept such innovation easily!"
That dimwit didn't realize that Gavaskar was part of the ICC Technical committee which allowed ideas like Free Hits and Bowl Outs to enter the cricketing world. There are times when even these greats make mistakes, no one is perfect. But what sucks is to watch mediocre people act as if they are great experts in the field.


Coming back to the Sanskrit phrase I quoted at the start, it's a fact that there's too much of commercialization taking place in cricket and borrowing a line from Shirin's article, it'll be the death of cricket the day a wicket is no longer called a wicket and instead called a "Citi moment of success"!

I Play For India... Now, more than ever - Sachin

The best thing about being a Sachin fan is that he gives you so much to be proud of. Almost every month he does something that brings joy to the entire country. Today he completed one of the 2 so called incomplete tasks his critics keep talking about, he scored a century in the 4th innings on the last day and India won. The only other incomplete task he needs to complete is to win a World Cup for India, while the latter task can wait for a couple of years we can celebrate his achievement today.

It all began with Virender Sehwag unleashing hell on the unsuspecting Englishmen who felt they were safe with a total of 386. India needed 387 and in an hour's time Sehwag changed the outlook of the game, he ended up getting a deserved Man of the Match award.

But the highlight of the game was the masterclass of Sachin Tendulkar. He played exceptional cricket, not for a moment did you think India was in trouble once he came down to bat. Yuvraj Singh bettered all expectations and did a fine job to support India's win. In fact at a stage it looked like he might even go on and steal the century away from Sachin. Yuvraj then played out a few dot balls which were cheered by the crowds who wanted to see a Sachin century and there were too few runs to get for both Sachin and Yuvraj to score hundreds. Eventually Sachin scored a couple of boundaries and made it to his 41st Test century with another boundary which also brough up India's historic win.

Some pics related to the game -


















Here's a little excerpt from an article on Cricinfo about Sachin. It is an awesome set of lines which truly describe what this genius means to India:

Those that aren't Indian struggle to fathom exactly what Tendulkar means to so many millions, and it's doubtful whether even those that live here really comprehend just how much a part of the national consciousness he has become. He is such a unifying force, a personality capable of stirring the emotions in every nook and corner of a vast land. And in these times of distress and anger, it was so very appropriate that it would be Tendulkar who put the smiles back on at least a few faces.

Thanks a billion Sachin.

Wikipedia on Sachin

Being a Sachin fan ever since I started watching cricket, I never expected Wikipedia to tell me something I didn't know.

He is the 9th highest wicket taker for India in ODIs.

And finally, it seems like Wikipedia has redone it's article on Sachin Tendulkar. Now it's got much better adjectives and more content including accounts of Sachin's great innings and awesome bowling cameos.
A few months back it was a very amateurish article, probably written by some fan who didn't know how to write detailed informative articles. Well done Wikipedia!

Adios Anil and Farewell Dada

Anil Kumble's century at The Oval and Sourav Ganguly's occasional spell of medium pace are not exactly things which come to mind as soon as we mention their names, but that's where their true greatness lies.
They've achieved so much in such a long career that one tends to forget may of their heroics. Few mention Anil Kumble's magical spell of 6-12 against the West Indies in the Hero Cup final; fewer remember Sourav's exceptional ODI batting and the masterclass of an opening pair that he and Sachin formed.

Sourav Ganguly should also be credited with having discovered the entire next generation of cricketers, be it Sehwag, Irfan, Zaheer, Dhoni or the Turbanator aka Bhajji.

Anil Kumble, what can one say about him. Yeah the news channels will harp on his 10 wickets in an innings, but the true cricket fan will also remember how Azhaar would turn to him match after match, when all other bowlers would get thrashed... Anil would mark his run up as early as in the 9th over of the game. What's more, he would get the break through. The quicker one, the batsman would try to cut it, he'd miss and an easy LBW for Anil. Also I won't ever forget that final match in B'lore when Anil and Srinath had an awesome partnership and tonked the ball in the final few overs to give India an unlikey victory. Their mothers were watching with glee after each boundary was hit.

I still remember the final IPL match of Kolkata Knightriders, they were in dire straits. My bro and I were watching and Sourav was still there; the required rate was a near impossible 20 something. Hardly any wickets in hand, and I just said "If Sourav is there till the last ball, there's no way he'll let his team lose"! No prizes for guessing what happened, he whacked the ball all over the park and won the game for his team.

That was just an IPL game, but such is the greatness of these players, as long as they are on the field, one can hope that no matter what we will win.

In time Rahul Dravid will also go, people won't expect to feel his abscence, but they will. Here's a man who at his prime could almost never be dismissed by the opposition [therefore the nick 'Wall']. Laxman, the master of wristwork. No one notices the number of matches that he has saved for us. And every Sachin fan dreads the day the great man decides to hang up his boots, which is why, people like me make it a point to watch every innings he plays.

So here's a final appeal to people who yell "Retirement" each time these greats have a bad inning, just shut up and enjoy the few performances left. The Big 3 aren't there anymore, neither is Anil Kumble! It's just Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar.

P.S. : All those retards who have ever said shit like "Sachin never scores a century when India needs it", just get some mental treatment! He scored a 100 against Aus in the final match of the Test series which India won and in ODI's he made a 100 in the final against Aus in Aus; so please zip it!


Adios Anil.

Farewell Dada!

Gautam Gambhir vs [Watson + Katich]

Wasn't much of a Gambhir fan until this test match, the guy screwed the Aussies all day [the one match ban can kiss Watson's a**]

Check this video, the best one related to the Gambhir fight -

Gambhir Vs [Watson + Katich]

The name is Tendulkar, Sachin Tendulkar

Yeah, he did it. The Chappels wanted him to retire; sections of the media wanted him to retire, dumb asses claimed he hasn't won India a match in 5 years [forgetting the Aus series in February] and then they all stand in line praising the Master when he proves it yet again!

And to top it, he did it at a time when we needed the runs from him; he and Sourav Ganguly in yet another 100+ run match turning partnership. Sourav also passed the 7000 run mark.

But then came the turnaround of the year, news channels who until 3 days ago were headlining stuff like - Sachin fails again! etc. started to sing praises of him. Times Now even went to the extent of having a poll asking whether he should make the 2011 WC his next target. Talk about overcompensating.

As a Sachin fan, it's days like these when one can enjoy the show, all the double talking dim wits embracing Sachin as if he was their messiah, only to turn against him a week later. But what a record like this does is stamp the man's rightful place in history.

On a slightly different note, I must mention the narcissism of the Aussie media and cricketers, they know their days of world domination are numbered, so their rhetoric increases every day.
On a day when Sachin screwed their asses all over the park and set a world record, this is what they are reporting Ricky Ponting next in line for Sachin Tendulkar record
Talk about self obsession!

There's news for you, Aussies. Ageing is not a process reserved exclusively for the Indians, even Aussies get old. Ponting [already 34 yrs old and is just 1 year younger than Sachin] too is going to have his set of injuries and rough patches, he is no Bradman, so just calm down and watch Sachin pile on the runs!

And Sachin, there's no need to say this, but still... You Rule man! Thank God I was born in this era, imagine being born and not having seen Sachin Tendulkar play!

Sourav Ganguly's Retirement and it's implications

DADA announced his retirement! If this is news to you, you obviously have been living in Siberia. It's sad that Sourav Ganguly was treated badly post the Sri Lanka series. For all those blaming him for that failure, here's a fact: Dhoni, the so called Superstar and Khel Ratna [rarely has an upstart been given a Khel Ratna like he has] refused to go to Sri Lanka for the Test series. No questions asked!

I respect and salute Sourav for giving Indian Cricket some spine! If Sachin held India's hopes on his shoulders for nearly 2 decades, it was Sourav's captaincy that made us so strong that even the mighty Aussies crumbled before us [remember 2001, just in case you forgot that due to News Channel Propaganda].

He is a master batsman, few realize he is the 2nd highest century maker in ODIs. Sourav Ganguly is India's greatest left handed batsman [Yuvraj, keep wishing]; he along with Sachin formed the greatest opening pair in cricketing history.

For those who think Indian cricket will be better off without the services of it's legends, well, you're in for a big surprise. Along with the undisputed difference in talent, there is also another major difference in the seniors and juniors.

It's something called honor. As soon as the last of the legends leave this team, we will no longer have players who play for the country at the risk of physical injury

I doub't whether the "juniors" would do what Kumble did that day. Who can forget Sachin's tragic century in 1999 against Pakistan in Chennai, which almost ended his career? 

The new generation is smart, they'd rather look after contracts. Kudos to Sourav for showing the board and the "juniors" that they need to introspect. 

Talent like Kumble, Ganguly, Dravid and Sachin will rarely present itself at the same time, if ever we can conjure such a bunch. Instead of savoring each moment of the last few years that these legends have left in international cricket, we have maniacs asking for their retirement.

People should remember that, a candle's flame is strongest just before it extinguishes. The end of the careers of the giants of Indian cricket shoudn;t be hastened by irresponsible men in positions in power. No I am not anti change. But forcing the process is not the answer. Meanwhile I will enjoy the last Test Series that dada will play in. Good luck to him.

Thanks for the memories Sourav :)

Forever The Bengal Tiger!